Remote Real-Time Digital Video

Revolutionising athletic coaching through real-time video production and interaction design.

Interaction-Design
Multimedia
Video-Design
Innovation

During the Commonwealth Games, I assisted the design of a remote real-time digital video production system to assist coaching staff. The system enabled the seamless capture and relay of athletic performance, revolutionising the coaching experience. My expertise extended to training and mentoring the team in non-linear video editing and the creation of digital coaching tools.

Published

Jul 2002

1. Executive Snapshot

  • Role: Assistant Designer & Technical Mentor
  • Context: Commonwealth Games
  • Target Group: High-performance coaching staff and athletes

Core Problem: The need for a seamless, real-time method to capture and relay athletic performance data to coaching staff during high-stakes competition.

Outcome: Designed and implemented a remote real-time digital video production system that enabled immediate performance feedback, significantly enhancing the coaching experience.

2. Strategic Context

During major sporting events like the Commonwealth Games, the margin between winning and losing is often found in immediate technical adjustments. Traditional video analysis often suffered from:

  • Latency in footage availability.
  • Fragmented communication between capture teams and coaches.
  • Limited tools for real-time visual breakdown.

This project aimed to close the gap between performance and analysis through a dedicated digital video infrastructure.

3. Research & Interaction Design

The system was built with a focus on Interaction Design, ensuring that the technical complexity of remote production did not hinder the speed of coaching decisions.

Key Focus Areas:

  • Real-Time Latency: Reducing the delay between the athletic action and the video relay.
  • Remote Access: Ensuring coaching staff could access high-quality feeds from various vantage points.
  • User Interface: Streamlining the capture process to be intuitive for production teams.

4. Implementation & Mentoring

Beyond the technical architecture, a significant portion of the project focused on capability building:

  • System Deployment: Executed the seamless capture and relay of athletic performance across multiple event sites.
  • Mentoring: Provided hands-on training for the team in non-linear video editing techniques.
  • Tool Creation: Developed custom digital coaching tools to facilitate on-the-fly performance analysis.

5. Impact & Evidence

The intervention fundamentally changed how coaching staff interacted with performance data:

  • Revolutionised Coaching Experience: Enabled “live” tactical adjustments based on instant video playback.
  • Operational Efficiency: Streamlined the workflow from capture to analysis, removing technical bottlenecks.
  • Team Capability: Successfully upskilled production staff in advanced editing and digital tool usage.

6. Strategic Value & Transferability

This project demonstrates the successful application of interaction design in high-pressure, real-time environments. The model is transferable to:

  • Live Broadcast & Media: Enhancing remote production workflows.
  • Industrial Tele-operation: Applying real-time video relay to remote monitoring and control.
  • High-Performance Training: Scaling digital coaching tools for professional sports academies and Olympic programmes.